Changing Face of Boston Radio, a History

[mwaters@wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

Donna Halper wrote:

>>
Anyway, as I have said before, I would love to write a book about
Boston/Mass. radio, and that is why I am working so hard at collecting
stories while people do still remember them.  I have talked with Fred B Cole
several times, and yes he does love to talk.  Ditto for Gordon Swan.  And
Bill Buchanan (the last accurate Globe radio writer!) is a wonderful
resource too.  I found Eunice Randall's niece, and she is going to take me
to the house where Eunice broadcast way back in 1920... But are we of the
Boston Radio Interest group the only ones who care about such minutae as
what year WORL changed call letters, and whether or not WMEX's call letters
stood for anything?  (They did not, contrary to what you may have heard.)
Would the average Joe or Jane care about the history of radio in our fair
city?  Enquiring minds want to know...
>>

        I think it's a great idea. A book that could fit into the local
history genre would work in New England. I think there's a strong market
(relatively) for regional books compared to other regions. The book would
need to have lots of photos and emphasize personalities and old-time
programs, both local and national. You would want to market it as a book
that explains how regional radio played a role in the history of New
England during the 20th century. You would want to work in the radio-geek
minutae in ways that didn't bog down the general reader. In this case, I
think the general reader is anyone interested in nostalgia (lots of older
people, but not just older people), regional history buffs, and anyone who
remembers listening to radio as an important part of their lives in the
past--but is not necessarily someone who knows the locations of all AM
antennas within 30 miles of Boston.
        How to handle material from areas beyond greater Boston is a
problem. It would be hard to be comprehensive beyond Boston, but I suppose
you would want to cover the other larger cities, Providence, Hartford,
Portland, etc., in some way, in order to make it a New England,  rather
than a Boston, book. That would widen the potential market to actually
*SELL" it, both to libraries and the public. I think regional might be the
way to go. In my dream, I see something about Globe Pequot Press . . .
        Remember . . . free advice is always worth exactly what you pay for
it.

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